


let those colors run (now you're having fun)

by glowgal



Series: ninety-nine percent fresh [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hollywood, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Minor Sokka/Suki, katara is famous and a badass, piandao is gay and married to fat this is canon fight me, zuko is so whipped lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:49:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27395257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glowgal/pseuds/glowgal
Summary: “Everything ok?” Zuko asks. “Did some asshole ask you what’s in your bag again?”“Everything’s fine,” Katara laughs, and she knows, suddenly and surely, that she wants nothing more than to have him on her arm at this event and every event for as long as he’ll have her. “I just have something I’ve got to ask you.”orKatara is not allowed to take Zuko to the premiere of the Blue Spirit movie. So naturally, she's taking him.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: ninety-nine percent fresh [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2001286
Comments: 50
Kudos: 277





	let those colors run (now you're having fun)

**Author's Note:**

> the only thing getting me thru this election is hurling myself into this alternate universe. i proofread this once. sending love to all of you.
> 
> title is from breathe deeper by tame impala (which is about getting high in public but idk it just fits)
> 
> oh, and you might want to read the first installment in this series for context first, but this can also sort of stand alone!

It’s day two of _The Blue Spirit: Legend of Jang Hui_ press junket, and Katara is tired.

Getting cast as the Painted Lady was a one in a million chance, really – Katara didn’t even have an agent when she showed up at the audition demanding to be seen, and the casting director would have sent her away immediately if the director, a notoriously stubborn and harsh man named Jeong-Jeong, hadn’t been intrigued by her persistence. She was offered the role exactly a week after her whirlwind of an audition, giving Katara little to no time to figure out what it was exactly that she was supposed to be _doing_. This was her first film role, not to mention the fact that said film was part of a franchise with an insane amount of notoriety and hype.

But Katara’s always been an overachiever, always a little bit obsessed with being on top of things, so she decided very early on that she would make being a movie star her bitch.

It’s been a bit of a learning curve, the whole press junket thing, with the back-to-back interviews and the “no spoilers” clause in her contract and the fact that she’s sitting in a room with some of the most famous actors of her generation, and _she’s one of them_ – but she crushed it the first day, got through the 7 straight hours of the same questions and the dumb trivia games and the fucking “what’s in my bag” interviews without a single hitch. Her publicist, a stern, no-nonsense woman named Hama, actually gave her a _hug_ at the end of the day.

And then she went home to her cozy Ba Sing Se apartment and to perfect, wonderful Zuko, who let her complain all she wanted before proceeding to cook her dinner and, later, doing some very specific things with his tongue that made her forget all about her stress. All in all, it wasn’t a bad day.

The second day, however, has been much, much worse.

The same questions that were getting a bit stale the day before are truly getting old now. It’s all “What was it like filming in the Fire Nation?” and “Do you all do your own stunts?” and “Katara, how does it feel to have your first big role be in a Blue Spirit movie?” If Katara has to explain how _excited_ she is to be the Painted Lady to one more interviewer, pretty soon she’s going to stop meaning it.

To top it all off, the Blue Spirit himself is in a bad mood. Jian Piandao has played the franchise’s titular character for the past decade, and he is one of the kindest, smartest, most talented men Katara has ever had the privilege of meeting. He’s only slightly younger than Katara’s father, which is a little weird because the script has a whole bunch of sexual-tension-filled banter between the Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit, but their relationship offscreen is very much of the father-daughter variety. Katara could tell something was off from the moment Piandao arrived at the hotel, and as the day has worn on, his responses to reporters have grown terse and short. It’s been up to Katara and her other costars to play nice and smooth things over, which has definitely been an exercise in diplomacy, to say the least.

“Is everything okay?” Katara asks Piandao softly during a break between interviews, after the flighty PA has delivered each of the cast members a water bottle and a carefully wrapped sandwich.

Her costar sighs, running a palm over his face in an uncharacteristic break of composure. “Yes, sorry. I had an argument with my publicist this morning, and it’s been weighing on me.”

Katara frowns. She knows what that’s like. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Piandao takes a swig from his water bottle. “Oh, it’s the same old argument we’ve been having for the past ten years. The studio doesn’t want me bringing my husband to the premiere because it might ‘sway public opinion’ of the film, I think that’s homophobic bullshit, and we’re at a bit of a standstill.”

Katara’s frown deepens. She’s met Fat, Piandao’s long-time partner, and he’s absolutely wonderful. Why the studio thinks his presence at the premiere would be detrimental to the film’s reception when Piandao’s been publicly out for a decade is completely beyond her - besides the studio being full of, as her friend so elegantly put it, _homophobic bullshit_.

But, selfishly, it gets her thinking – if Piandao isn’t allowed to take his own _husband_ to the premiere, what will the studio say about Katara taking Zuko?

Granted, she understands that as a heterosexual couple, she and Zuko are inherently less “controversial” in terms of public opinion. But still – neither the studio nor her publicist were happy about her Very Public media appearances with Zuko at the start of their relationship. She and Zuko have done a good job of keeping themselves out of the public eye in the months after their kiss on the pier, but Hama practically begged Katara not to mention her boyfriend at all during the press junket. Katara’s pretty sure that the studio still isn’t pleased with her choice of partner, despite her repeated explanations that Zuko was the victim in the situation with his father, not the perpetrator.

Piandao smiles at her. “I can see the wheels turning in that head of yours,” he teases, nudging her with his shoulder. “Don’t worry about me – Fat doesn’t even like red carpets anyway. It’s just the principal of the thing.”

That also gets Katara thinking. Zuko, for all his charms, is certainly not a social butterfly – he’s a PhD student, for Tui’s sake, he would probably hate being on a red carpet. But he’s also expressed how proud he is of Katara, how excited he is to see the movie in theatres. Wouldn’t he want to be by her side for the biggest night of her life?

Haru, who plays the Painted Lady’s love interest for the first half of the movie (and who definitely has kind of a thing for Katara in real life), leans forward in his seat to lock eyes with her. “I’m sure the studio would be cool if we went together, Katara. As friends, I mean.”

“Thanks, Haru. I’ll keep that in mind.”

So yeah, now Katara’s _very_ determined to bring Zuko.

…

When she gets back to her apartment, Katara is surprised to see that Zuko isn’t in his rightful spot on her couch, sprawled out with a million papers and textbooks surrounding him. Which, you know, technically makes sense, as they’ve only been dating for about 3 months and are a long ways away from moving in with each other. But Zuko has been spending more and more time at her place recently, mostly because his roommate is sweet but also incredibly nosy (Ty Lee has not changed one bit since high school), and Katara has an apartment all to herself. Zuko even has a spare key, and a Drawer, and a Toothbrush – very significant relationship markers, according to the expert opinions of both Suki and Yue.

So she’s slightly (okay, _very_ ) disappointed to see that her favorite person is not readily available for cuddling – it’s been a very long day, after all, and all she wants is to change into her pajamas and watch true crime documentaries while her hot boyfriend gives her a backrub. Is that so much to ask?

It’s not, apparently, because within minutes of Katara changing out of her press-junket-appropriate clothing and into one of Zuko’s t-shirts and a pair of flannel pajama pants, the door is unlocking and Zuko is backing through the doorway, laden with groceries.

And it’s the best thing in the world, the way he lights up when he sees her. “Hey, you’re home early,” he says, moving over to the couch to swoop down and kiss her despite the grocery bags in his arms. “How was day two?”

“It was ok,” Katara responds, and she’s _nervous_ all of a sudden, nervous like she hasn’t been around Zuko since confessing her feelings to him on the pier so many months ago. She feels like she’s about to ask her boyfriend to the prom, not to a prestigious industry event.

Zuko immediately picks up on her anxious energy because he’s perfect like that. “Everything ok?” he asks, glancing at her as he drops the groceries on the kitchen island. “Did some asshole ask you what’s in your bag again?”

“Everything’s fine,” Katara laughs, and she _knows_ , suddenly and surely, that she wants nothing more than to have him on her arm at this event and every event for as long as he’ll have her. “I just have something I’ve got to ask you.”

Zuko drops down next to her on the couch, slinging an arm around her shoulder and pressing a kiss to her temple. “Shoot.”

And because Katara is kind of an asshole who loves to catch her boyfriend off guard, she peers up at him from where she’s tucked into his side and asks nonchalantly, “Would you mind coming to the premiere with me?”

Zuko chokes on air. “What?”

Katara laughs, wriggling out from under his arm to sit up and really look at him. “I want you to come to _Legend of Jang Hui_ with me. As my date. Would that be something you’d want to do?”

Zuko stares at her, his expression hesitant, but still hopeful. “Katara – are you sure? I mean, your publicist definitely hates me. And people are still coming around on the whole ‘my dad is a hardened criminal’ thing. Are you sure you want to be seen with me so publi–”Katara leans across the couch to kiss him before he can finish his sentence, winding her fingers into his hair. It’s one of what Zuko calls her _persuasive_ _kisses_ , long and slightly dirty, and it leaves them both panting.

“Zuko,” Katara says when she pulls away, looking into her boyfriend’s eyes, “I do not care what my fucking publicist says. If you don’t want to come because it’s too public for you, I completely understand. But do not for a second think that you have to say no for _my_ sake. You’re my boyfriend, and I like you, and I think you’re going to look really hot in a tux. I want to be seen with you. Will you come?”

Zuko smiles at her, his eyes impossibly soft. “I do look hot in a tux.”

Katara laughs, pulling him in for another kiss. “I can’t wait.”

…

“I thought you were going with Haru,” are Hama’s first words when Katara announces that she’ll be taking Zuko to the premiere.

Katara blinks. “What? Why would you think that?”

Hama frowns. “He mentioned it to me after the press junket. I’ve already been in contact with your stylists about coordinating your outfits.”

“I am _not_ going with Haru,” Katara huffs. “He basically invited himself as my date and I said I would ‘keep him in mind.’ And I am not going to wear _matching outfits_ with him, Tui and La.”

Hama gives Katara the _you’re being unreasonable_ look that Katara has become very accustomed to as an opinionated woman in the film industry. “It would be great publicity for the movie. You don’t have to _date_ Haru, but if you make it look like there’s at least some romantic tension there, people will have more of a reason to come see the film.”

“If I make it look like there’s ‘romantic tension there,’” Katara reasons, “it will look like I’m cheating on my real-life boyfriend, who I very publicly got together with several months ago. Remember him? Zuko? Tall, handsome? Facial scar?”

Hama remains unmoved. “Say you broke up.”

“But we didn’t,” Katara grits out. Hama is a great publicist, but _Tui_ does she get on Katara’s nerves.

Hama sighs, steepling her fingers together. “Katara, honey, I am happy for you and your boyfriend. I am.”

_Doubtful._

“But we’ve had this conversation. He’s not a great look for you, image wise. No one knows that the Painted Lady turns out to be a villain, and until they do, we want you to appear as innocent and unproblematic as possible. I’m happy for you two to get up to whatever it is you want to outside of the public eye, but bringing the son of a notorious Fire Nation politician to the premiere of your first feature film is not exactly the message we want you to be sending.”

Katara takes a deep breath to control her simmering rage, plants her palms on Hama’s desk, and looks the older woman in the eyes. “Zuko Himura is _not_ his father. He never has been, and never will be, like Ozai in any way. And the only message I will be sending by taking him to the premiere is that I _love_ him enough to want him on my arm for the biggest, most important night of my entire life. You want me to appear innocent and pure? Then let me invite my brother and my dad and my sister-in-law too, and we’ll all show up at the premiere together, one big happy family. But Zuko _will_ be there, and that’s final.”

Hama does not look the slightest bit intimidated, her face contemplative instead. “You know, that’s not a bad idea, actually. Showing that Zuko has the approval of your family would give him a more wholesome appeal that would definitely be palatable to fans. I like it.” She nods sharply at Katara. “I’ll have to run it by the studio, but I think they’ll like it too. Good work.”

It’s not until she has left Hama’s office, grinning and triumphant, that Katara realizes exactly what she said. _She loves Zuko_.

…

And then it’s just a waiting game. Her dad, brother, and Suki were all more than thrilled to be invited to the premiere – Sokka especially so, texting Katara every day leading up to the event with questions about what style of shoe he should wear for the red carpet, and asking if he’ll get to meet his hero Piandao, and if so can he get an autograph, and if Piandao would be willing to sign Sokka’s sword, which is not even a euphemism – and Katara buys them first class plane tickets down from Kyoshi and a fancy hotel suite, just because she can. She can hardly wait to see them.

Katara is also waiting to tell Zuko she loves him until after the premiere, because what if he doesn’t say it back and wants to break up with her, but he promised to be her date for the premiere, so he goes with her out of pity and it’s terrible and awkward and sad? Not that she thinks Zuko would necessarily do that – she’s fairly certain he loves her too, or at least could love her someday soon – but Katara was raised by a family of overthinkers, and she knows how to worry like no other. Better to wait until after the danger of public humiliation has passed. Besides, there’s no rush.

It’s just that now that she knows, now that her heart swells with what is undoubtedly love every time Zuko smiles at her, Katara is practically bursting with the secret. It takes actual effort for her not to say it when he wakes her up the morning of the premiere with tea and congee from her favorite cafe. If only Katara’s high school self could see her now–

“What are you thinking about, huh?”

Katara snaps out of her reverie to see her boyfriend smiling at her from across the kitchen table. “Hmm?”

Zuko taps her forehead gently with his pointer finger. “Lot going on in there right now. You’ve barely eaten.” He leans across the table to press a kiss to the spot where his finger was. “You nervous about tonight?”

Katara beams at him, takes a bite of her neglected congee. “Yeah, but mostly excited. How are you feeling?”

Zuko exhales. “Only slightly terrified.”

“You’ll be great,” Katara promises, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand. “You’ll have me, and Sokka and Suki, and you know my dad likes you a lot. No backing out on me now, Himura.”

“You just want to see me in a tux,” Zuko mock-grumbles, his eyes sparkling with laughter.

Katara’s stylist, Wu, sweeps into at the apartment at noon, her assistant Meng and a whole posse of makeup artists and hair stylists in tow. She grabs Katara’s cheeks like an overexcited auntie.

“Look at you! Not a spot of makeup on and you’re already stunning. Kai, prep her face. I want dewy, I want sparkles. No matte surfaces, do you understand? Rin, I want you to start on her hair in an hour or so. We’ll discuss updos. Misaki, I’ll talk through accessories with you in a second.”

Wu’s eyes lock on Zuko, who is standing in the corner looking slightly overwhelmed.

“You must be the date. So tall, and so handsome!” She snaps her fingers. “Meng, give the man his suit.”

Meng scurries to the portable clothing rack that Wu’s other assistants have set up in the corner of the living room, grabbing a dark garment bag off the rack and shoving it into Zuko’s arms. “Do you need help putting this on?”

Zuko’s face turns bright red, and Katara stifles a giggle. “Um, no. I think I’ve got it.”

“Then shoo!” Wu instructs, flapping her hand at him. “Off to the bedroom for you. Don’t come out until we tell you Katara is ready. You’re going to _die_ when you see her.”

Katara spends a full three hours getting primped and prodded. Her curls are brushed through and swept to the side, cascading down her shoulders in glamorous waves. Her eyelids are covered in gold shimmer, and her lips are painted a glossy, blushing pink. Finally, Meng and Wu zip her into the most beautiful dress she’s ever seen – it’s a pale blue satin that contrasts beautifully with her dark skin, with a tight off-the-shoulder bodice and a full, floor-length skirt. Katara looks in the mirror and, for the first time, sees a movie star staring back at her.

“You’re so beautiful I can’t stand it,” a voice breathes, and Katara whirls around to see Zuko, his eyes filled with wonderment. He moves to her, reaching for Katara’s waist and pulling her to him.

“No kissing!” Wu shrieks, and Zuko groans, dropping his head against Katara’s shoulder. “That lipstick was applied _meticulously_!”

Zuko looks incredible himself, in a perfectly fitted black tuxedo with almost imperceptible white pinstripes, complete with a deep red tie. But he can’t keep his eyes off Katara, and his gaze is so reverent that she can’t help herself - when Wu isn’t looking, she sneaks him a brief peck on the lips. “We’re about to be the best dressed couple Ba Sing Se’s ever seen.”

Hama arrives within the hour to take them to meet Suki, Sokka, and Katara’s father at the hotel. When they step into the lobby, Katara can’t help the tears that spring to her eyes – all the people she loves, together in one place, dressed to the nines and ready to support her on the biggest night of her life. Her tears threaten to overflow when her father says gruffly, “Look at you. Your mother would be so proud, snowblossom.”

But Katara doesn’t have time to cry, because Hama is ushering them out the back of the hotel and into a town car. Sokka and Suki spend the ride showing Katara new pictures of her nephew – who is being babysat by Iroh for the weekend, to both Zuko and Katara’s delight – and they arrive at the theatre before Katara even has the chance to get nervous.

Before they exit the car, Hama turns around in the passenger’s seat to look seriously at the group. “Suki, Sokka, Hakoda – pose with Katara for a few photos and then head straight into the theatre, please. Zuko – you’ll be with Katara the entirety of the carpet, but let Katara do all the talking, and for the love of Tui, don’t leave her side.”

Zuko huffs a nervous laugh. “That won’t be a problem.”

“And… break!” Sokka jokes, calling back to his high school days as a quarterback, but before Katara can even laugh, the car doors are opening and they’re stepping out onto the red carpet.

It’s overwhelming even for her, with all the bright lights and shouting, so she can’t imagine how her companions must be feeling. But Katara’s been prepped for this – she didn’t sit through hours of Hama’s media training for nothing – so she slides her arm into Zuko’s smoothly, calls, “Stay close,” to her family, and leads them into the fray.

And it’s _fun_ , really, walking a red carpet with her favorite people in the world. Photographers are eating up the fact that there’s a family of, objectively, very attractive people walking the carpet together, and they stop for almost a full minute in one spot as photographers vie for their attention.

Sokka, of course, is eating up the spotlight, and Suki not only looks like a model, but has the composure of the badass attorney she is – so the two of them are right at home, posing for the cameras like the absolute power couple they are.

Her father, however, looks uncomfortable with the attention, so Katara releases Zuko with a murmured “wait here,” and slides her arm around her father’s waist instead. She kisses his cheek and he relaxes immediately, turning to smile down at her. The photographers _love_ that, shouting “Look over here, Dad!” and “Give us a smile, sir!”

They pose for a few more pictures together before Katara murmurs in his ear, “Okay, you can take the showoffs and head inside. Love you.”

Once her family members are on their way, Katara turns to see Zuko smiling at her, his hands in his pockets. Despite his nerves, he looks poised and effortless without even trying, and there’s something about his gaze that makes the pandemonium around them fall away. Spirits, she _loves_ him.

“You look so beautiful,” he murmurs in her ear as she links her arm with his again. “I can’t believe I got this lucky.”

“Are you kidding?” Katara replies, leading him to the next mark further down the carpet. She can hear shutters clicking and photographers shouting in the background, but for a moment, it feels like just the two of them. “ _I’m_ the lucky one. You are some serious arm candy.”

Zuko laughs, and as they come to a halt, slides an arm around her waist, tucking her close into his side. The photographers go wild. “Katara! Over here! Katara, give him a kiss!”

Katara ignores the cacophony, simply revels in the joy of having the boy she loves by her side on this incredible night, and knows deep in her bones that her smile for the cameras is nothing but genuine.

…

Later, once the pictures and interviews are over and they’re all seated in the theatre, Katara lets her nerves get the best of her.

“What if you hate the movie?” she asks Zuko, clutching his forearm. “You’ll tell me, right? You won’t lie?”

Zuko shakes his head, grinning. “Katara, it’s a Blue Spirit movie, and you’re in it. I’m pretty sure this is going to be my favorite movie of all time.”

“I’ll tell you if I hate it, Katara,” Sokka offers through a mouthful of fireflakes, to which Suki smacks him upside the head. “What? She asked!”

Jeong-Jeong gets up onstage to a round of boisterous applause from the audience, looking very put together for once, his normally bushy mass of white hair pulled into a sleek top knot. But despite the new hairdo, he’s still the same old Jeong-Jeong – instead of giving a speech, he simply bows to the audience. “Enjoy the film.”

The lights dim as laughter and more applause echo through the theatre.

The opening credits begin. Zuko grabs Katara’s hand.

Katara’s seen the movie once already – there was a cast and crew screening weeks ago, before the press junket, to make sure the actors were crystal clear on what they could and couldn’t spoil about the film. And of _course_ Katara thinks it’s good – it’s a Blue Spirit movie, for Tui’s sake – but there’s still that niggling fear in the back of her mind, telling her that Zuko will hate it, that her family will laugh at her acting, that they’ll all secretly go on Rotten Cabbages and give it 1% reviews.

But she shouldn’t have worried. The first time Katara comes on screen, Zuko squeezes her hand so tightly it almost hurts, his expression wonderous, his eyes fixed to the screen. Sokka actually _whoops_ when Katara’s character starts fighting a group of corrupt soldiers.

“I did that stunt myself,” she murmurs in her boyfriend’s ear as the Painted Lady flips onto a soldier’s back, driving an ice dagger through his heart. “Minus the ice dagger, of course. And the actual murder. The wonders of CGI, right?”

“Agni, I love you,” Zuko whispers, eyes shining even in the darkness of the movie theatre. Then he freezes as he realizes what he’s said.

But before he can panic like Katara knows he wants to, she pulls him down into a kiss, right there in the front row of the movie theatre, as the sound of the Painted Lady beating up some poor fool echoes in the background. Without hesitation, Zuko winds a hand into her hair and kisses her back, and it’s so gentle, so full of _love_ that it makes Katara’s heart ache. He’s perfect. Everything is perfect.

Finally, Katara pulls away, says the words she’s been waiting to say for weeks – maybe even for years, since the booth in the Jasmine Dragon after musical rehearsal, since the very first time he made her laugh.

“Zuko,” she breathes, “ _I love you too_.”

And they turn back to watch the Painted Lady kill a man.

**Author's Note:**

> okay that last line is ridiculous i'm sorry but i HAD TO it just made me laugh!!! this one goes out to all the cuties who commented on my first installment in this series! y'all made me really believe in this universe and want to examine it further. a lot of this was just indulgent rambling about what i think katara would be like as a movie star - i know zip zilch about the film industry and how it actually works, so this was assisted by lots of googling and wild guessing. would SO appreciate whatever feedback y'all are willing to give!
> 
> and seriously, take care of yourselves, especially if you are living in america right now. i love you, we'll get thru this. be safe.


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